Snapchat Registered With Russian Regulator ‘Without Its Knowledge’

Snapchat’s parent company says the U.S. messaging app has been registered with Russia’s media regulator without its knowledge.

According to an August 10 statement by Roskomnadzor, Snapchat was added to its register of information distributors “after it provided the necessary information requested” by the state agency.

However, a Snap spokesperson said they didn’t know that this information would be used for this purpose.

By July 2018, an amended law will require “information distribution organizers” to register with Roskomnadzor, store records of users’ calls and text messages for a period of six months, and make it available for the Russian security services upon request.

Snap said that it has no intention of complying with the rule.

Snapchat is said to be the first Western social media company to find itself on Roskomnadzor’s list, which also includes Russian sites such as VKontakte, RuTube, and Telegram.